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"Angies been here half a day, Mama. Long enough to know that we dont know shit. "
Mama looked down at them for a moment, then turned and headed for the corner by the window, where she started talking to the curtain.
Livvy rolled her eyes. "Oh, good. Shes getting Papas opinion. If a dead man disagrees with me, Im outta here. "
Finally, Mama returned. She didnt look happy. "Papa tells me you think the menu is bad. "
Angie frowned. That was what she thought, but she hadnt told anyone yet. "Not bad, Mama. But change might be a good thing. "
Mama bit down on her lower lip, crossed her arms. "I know," she said to the air beside her. Then she looked at Livvy. "Papa thinks we should listen to Angie. For now. "
"Of course he does. His princess. " She glared at Angie. "I dont need this crap. I have a new husband who has begged me to stay home at night and make babies. "
The arrow hit its mark. Angie actually flinched.
"So thats what Im going to do. " Livvy patted Angies back. "Good luck with the place, little sis. Its all yours. You work nights and weekends. " She turned on her high heel and walked out.
Angie stared after her, wondering how it had gone bad so quickly. "All I said was we needed to make a few changes. "
"But not to the menu," Mama said, crossing her arms. "People love my lasagna. "
LAUREN STARED DOWN AT THE QUESTION IN FRONT OF her.
A man walks six miles at four miles per hour. At what speed would he need to travel during the next two and a half hours to have an average speed of six miles an hour during the entire trip?
The answer choices blurred in front of her tired eyes.
She pushed back from the table. She couldnt do this anymore. SAT preparation had filled so much of her time in the last month that shed started to get headaches. It wouldnt do her any good if she aced the test but fell asleep in all her classes.
The test is in two weeks.
With a sigh, she pulled back up to the table and picked up her pencil. Shed already taken this test last year and gotten a good score. This time, she was hoping for a perfect 1600. For a girl like her, every point mattered.
By the time the oven beeper went off an hour later, shed completed another five pages of the practice test. Numbers and vocabulary words and geometry equations floated through her head like those giant Star Wars spaceships, bumping into one another.
She went into the kitchen to make dinner before work. She could choose between a bowl of Raisin Bran and an apple with peanut butter. She picked the apple. When she finished eating, she dressed in a nice pair of black pants and a heavy pink sweater. Her Rite Aid smock covered most of the sweater anyway. She grabbed her backpack--just in case she found time to finish her trigonometry homework on her dinner break--and left the apartment.
She hurried down the stairs and was just reaching for the front door knob when a voice said, "Lauren?"
Dang it. She paused, turned.
Mrs. Mauk stood in the open doorway to her apartment. A tired frown pulled the edges of her mouth downward. The wrinkles on her forehead looked painted on. "Im still wait
ing for that rent check. "
"I know. " She had trouble keeping her voice even.
Mrs. Mauk moved toward her. "Im sorry, Lauren. You know I am, but I need to get paid. Otherwise, its my job on the line. "
Lauren felt herself deflate. Now shed have to ask her boss for an advance. She hated doing that. "I know. Ill tell Mom. "
"You do that. "
She headed for the door, heard Mrs. Mauk say, "Youre a good kid, Lauren"; it was the same thing the manager said every time she had to ask for money. There was no answer to that, so Lauren kept walking, out into a rainy, navy blue night.
It took two bus changes to get her out toward the highway, where the neon bright Rite Aid pharmacy offered all night hours. She hurried into the store, even though she wasnt late. Even a few extra minutes on her time card helped.
"Uh, Lauren?" It was Sally Ponochek, the pharmacist. As always, she was squinting. "Mr. Landers wants to see you. "
